Saturday, January 22, 2011

Little Things

I titled this "Little Things" because that is what we have been focusing on since the first of the new year. With the temperature dropping our heating bills have gone up so in order to stay within our budget we have redirected some of the home repair money to heating. The plus to this is that now we can focus on the little touches that tend to get neglected from time to time. So the first one is the china cabinet. Image the cabinet without shelves, the top falling in, the back and sides missing and plaster (along with other debris that I will not mention) inside of the cabinet. That is what it looked like several weeks ago but now we can actually use it. Here are the results:














We have been without a shower for 3 years (but don't misunderstand, we have taken baths during that time). It is nice to have a shower now. We needed to do a tub surround but plastic just didn't look right so after some research we decided that wood could be used, it just takes more preparation. Then came the shower rod, we needed a rod that was free standing and circular in shape. We couldn't find one locally and to order it would have cost a fortune, which we don't have, so we made our own. Copper tubing works just great. Finally the curtain. It needed to be much longer than the ones sold in the stores so Chris made one by sewing panels of plastic/vinyl together.

Although not complete here is what the rest of the bathroom looks like. Chris made the curtains and hung the wallpaper.

                        












Last, but certainly not least, we wanted to use the speaking tubes. Couldn't find original mouthpieces for the tubes so Chris decided to make her own until we could locate originals. And yes, the tubes do work. She can talk to me from the bathroom when I'm in the kitchen.

Stay tuned for more of episodes of "Life with Chris & Richard"

9 comments:

B said...

That's really impressive, Brother Jacobsen, It's awesome to see all your progress. It makes me want to come back out soon and visit.

cjmom said...

Lovely work!

cjmom said...

Are you planning on planting another tree?

Celeste said...

yowsa! that looks awesome! (this coming from someone who doesn't particularly care for wall paper)

Am-I-Nuts said...

If we plant another tree it won't be in the exact location. That location is between our house and the neighbor's, too close for comfort.

Bloo Ruin said...

Love it.
Although this restoration is challenging, I would love to do the same thing some day. Its not only art, but an exploration of history. Speaking tubes? I would have some fun with that!!
I bet the shower rod will look pretty cool once the copper gets that green patina.

christianne said...

"Bloo" many old homes in Trenton need restoration and the price tags are amazing. One local bought a house here for $5,000!

cjmom said...

Can you turn those speaking tubes off? I mean if you want privacy?? Just curious. It looks wonderful - course I just saw the finished one. Absolutely amazing!

Am-I-Nuts said...

The quick answer to the speaking tubes and privacy is "No". Original tubes do have a way to close them but ours don't. I guess you can put your finger in the tube to plug it.